Isaac Newton

I just finished reading a biography about Isaac Newton. It was written by James Gleick who written a number of successful and  interesting books, mainly about science and technology. What I liked about this biography is that fact that it looked at Isaac Newton as a complete person and not just at Isaac Newton the scientific genius. Unlike other books about Newton it is not a hagiography. In fact, Gleick goes out of his way to include Newton's foibles as well as his genius. This presents a more realistic and human portrait of Newton than I have ever seen before.

What I really found interesting about Newton was that he was not a scientist in the sense of most scientist today in which he strictly followed the scientific experimental method and ignored or discounted things that we would consider to be pseudo-scientific or non-scientific. As it turns out, Newton was the greatest and most accomplished alchemist of his day. he spent at least twenty years of his life in futile attempts to transform lead into gold. In the mean time, he exposed himself to many hazardous chemicals such as Mercury which he handled frequently.

Newton also spent many years writing about religion, interpreting the bible and engaging in biblical prophesy. Activities that many today would consider quaint, odd or even appropriate for a scientist.

Of course, Gleick goes into great detail regarding Newton's personal development and discoveries in the fields of optics, mathematics and physics. Issac invented the mathematics of Calculus so that he could calculate the mathematics that supported the new science that he developed. Until Einstein developed the theory of relativity, Newton's explanation of the physical world was the most complete. Even today, Newton's description of the physical world still holds true. He truly saw further than anyone else, even if he stood on the shoulders of giants.

In later life, Newton devoted a good deal of attention to the Royal Society in London and he eventually became the Master of the Mint, a position that he took quite seriously and performed diligently for the remainder of his long life.